The Government has recently agreed a piece of legislation that allows for fathers to take two weeks’ paid paternal leave legally under Irish law. The new statutory paternity leave will be paid at a rate of €230 a week, the same as maternity benefit and based on the same PRSI contribution requirements. The legislation, which will be introduced by way of the Family Leave Bill, also enables fathers to take the leave at any stage within 26 weeks of the birth.
Until now, Ireland has been behind the majority of European countries in its exclusion of paternity leave from employment law. So the real question is the pre-empted timeframe of two weeks enough? How do we measure up in the context of other 1st world countries? We know that prior to this improvised legislation new fathers typically used days from their annual leave, but this could legally be granted or denied at the employer’s discretion.
Family Leave Bill
The legislation, which will be introduced by way of the Family Leave Bill, also enables fathers to take the leave at any stage within 26 weeks of the birth. Until now, Ireland has been behind the majority of European countries in its exclusion of paternity leave from employment law. So the real question is the pre-empted timeframe of two weeks enough? How do we measure up in the context of other 1st world countries? We know that prior to this improvised legislation new fathers typically used days from their annual leave, but this could legally be granted or denied at the employer’s discretion.
How do we measure up in the context of other 1st world countries? We know that prior to this improvised legislation new fathers typically used days from their annual leave, but this could legally be granted or denied at the employer’s discretion.
Two Weeks Paternity Leave
From September, the government has granted fathers the ability to have the option to apply for two weeks’ paid paternity leave in the event of childbirth. The new benefit would be in addition to paternity and maternity leave and could be split between the two parents, from this perspective. It is difficult to say whether or not two weeks paternity leave is destined for success or not, will men begin to demand equality with regard to time off between spouses?.
It remains to be seen for now but the question is an important one, the reality is that paternity leave is impending and businesses nationwide are preparing for it in a variety of ways. It doesn’t come into place until September 2016, which beckons in the first type of legislation of its kind time in history in this country. Finally, the role of fathers in postnatal care is being formally recognised.
€230 Paid Paternity Leave per Week.
Now for the specifics. From September onwards, every employer in Ireland is legally obliged to offer fathers two weeks’ paternity leave following the birth of a child. The state will pay fathers €460 for the leave, which is compliant with the current maternity pay restrictions. The encouraging aspect of this proposal is that the leave can be taken any time within 28 weeks of the birth. With the increased difficulty on parents with the arrival of a child, these government enacted measures will do wonders for the wider public.
Ireland seems to be attempting up with provisions from the rest of the world in this vein. To compare with Sweden, parents can take up to sixteen months of leave, paid up to 80% of salary (with a cap of €4,000 per month). Two of the months are for dads, following a use-it-or-lose-it model, and there’s talk of a third “daddy month” coming in 2016. Obviously to the Irish Workforce, this may seem excessive and unachievable, but our current legislation is a great start.
Recognising the Role of the Father in Child Care
To compare to the other end of the extreme is the US, where there is no statutory leave – no maternity or paternity leave – available to the public at all. Consequently, Ireland has a comparatively good parental leave system which is promoted by many companies including Advance Systems, a Time Management Software company based in Dublin and in the US.
It’s an admirable step by our country to recognise the role of the father in child care and a subsequent benefit to all of us. Ireland’s change in policy could be traced to the criticism of or structures at the Families at Work: A Chance for Change conference last year, where keynote speaker Professor Peter Moss said, “Ireland’s leave policies are based on maternalistic policies that assume that women take care of young children.” We came bottom of a European table in terms of family leave. So paternity leave, even at just two weeks, is very welcome as a result.
Benefits the Whole Family
Enabling fathers to take paternity leave is beneficial for the whole family and as a result the wider society. Fathers nationwide will now be able to help the family in a more necessary capacity, and of course, it helps the father to build a relationship with the baby. This reality normalises parental leave from an employer perspective, and it will lead to both women and men getting equal time off in certain . Anecdotally, in any given workplace today, most of the parental leave is being taken by women – time added on to maternity leave, blocks of leave when the kids are off school, or three- and four-day weeks for those whose employers allow it.
The risk here is that women are then mommy-tracked, while men continue on up the ladder. Women ask for flexible work, while many men still don’t see that as something that’s acceptable for them to do.
Is two Weeks Enough?
This legislation should be heartening, and whether or not it’s long enough can only be determined after we trial it out in the first place.We should be encouraged by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, who is taking two months paternity leave, a very atypical action for such a high-earning male CEO. If someone of Zuckerberg’s stature is taking two months off, is our implementation of two weeks really admirable? Are we behind the rest of the world in terms of how we encourage paternity leave in Ireland? The actions of Zuckerberg and likewise individual give credence to the growing notion that men should be allowed take sound paternity leave.